Quincy, MA Marina Fire

[CaptTom]

Not good, but it could have been much worse. Story here.

[Ryan H]

That was at my marina. The liveaboards band together and ran hoses to soak the boats downwind to keep the fire from spreading. A few of the boats were cut free before the fires got to them and we managed to raft up to most before they drifted away until the coats guard got there to tow them out. Not much we could do for D dock though, the boat that started everything had just topped up their fuel tanks and was carrying a few hundred gallons of gas. It took the fire department a lot longer than I thought it would to get the hoses going. One brand new liveaboard couple lost everything.

Sent from my N9130 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[exMaggieDrum]

Boat fires in marinas are almost never just the boat that caught on fire. I have seen two in our marina and boats on either side, two boats away, got either destroyed or significant damage. And the fumes from a fiberglass boat fire can be deadly. Don't get downwind of it. Not to mention gas boats and propane explosions. I would be likely to try to help if I could but I would take extra care and if I didn't think it was safe I would not do it. I watched the fire crews and their boats keep a healthy distance. The other problem is that boat firs are exceedingly hard to put out - even with foam.

And never, ever, open up a closed door with a strong internal fire going. Flashes are usual with the new fresh air. Many people have died from that, including on their own boats.